Breaking the Rule
by virtualfindingsdocumented
Summary: Beatrice breaks one of Lemony's rules.


Fictober 2019 Day 3

"Now? Now you listen to me?"

* * *

Beatrice could feel his anger in each step he took up the stairs to his apartment. As she walked behind him she could also still feel the tall man's hand on her arm, as if he was still holding her. She was so afraid.

Lemony had let her stay in his apartment until he could locate her family, and she accepted it. It was small and there wasn't a spare room, but it was better than where she was before, and she was running out of money anyway.

He spent most of the time locked in his room, only eventually coming out to receive a package. He also came out at mealtimes to cook in the small kitchen, and then he left Beatrice's portion there and took his back to his room. Every day. Beatrice barely saw him.

Lemony gave her the rules on the first day: never open the curtains, even if it's dark; matches only allowed in the kitchen; she should only open the door to people that had the password, which he left daily on the fridge door (or, in one occasion, inside the fridge); she should only knock on his door if there was an emergency, as he needed the silence to work, and the office in the Rhetorical Building was compromised; and she should never leave the apartment alone.

Beatrice didn't want to bother him, as he was doing her a big favor and also the more she bothered him, the longer it would take for him to finish it. But some of the rules bothered her. She was young, but she had been on her own for a while. She knew how to do things for herself. She knew fire safety. He didn't have to treat her like a baby.

That morning, she woke up craving apples. She knew there were none in the apartment, and she knew there was a small market just across the street. It was not worth it bothering Lemony about it, but she really wanted an apple, and she still had a little money left.

And maybe if she went, she would show him how absurd that rule was.

That's how she left the apartment, and how she ended up meeting the tall man. She tried to dismiss him, but he ignored her attempts. He asked questions but she knew better than to be honest. Her name was Jane, no, she wasn't too young to be walking alone, her parents were just in the other building, yes, she had money, she knew the City very well, she was born there. She told him a few times she wasn't interested in whatever he was selling. He grabbed her arm.

Beatrice was so scared. He was strong and didn't seem to want to let her go. She shouldn't have lied about having money. When he saw how much she actually had, he would be even angrier. She shouted, but none of the adults in the area seemed to care.

Suddenly, there was a hand holding the tall man's arm. Lemony. Somehow he found her.

She felt some relief, but it lasted little. As the man looked Lemony up and down, she felt the fear coming back. The man was tall and large, while Lemony looked like he spent too long reading and had no time to learn how to fight. They were both going to get their asses beaten.

"I'm sorry, I think you are scaring my daughter."

Beatrice took a peek at his eyes and saw something changing. There is a sort of respect that men like that only offered to other men.

"I'm sorry, it was not my intention." The man said with a fake smile, letting go of Beatrice's arm, before leaving.

Lemony let go of his arm and nodded. He gave Beatrice an unreadable look, and then turned away, towards his apartment.

Beatrice imagined he would scold her right there, or grab her arm and take her back. But he just walked, not looking back to her, and it was somehow worse.

She followed him, not wanting to be left behind. Now they were in the building, and she could feel his anger in each step he took up the stairs to his apartment.

He only gave her a look once he had opened the door. Beatrice took it as a good sign that he didn't close it before she could enter.

She would understand it if he kicked her out, and she wouldn't complain, but she couldn't take it if he wanted to leave her case. Lemony was the only person who could find her family, without him there was no hope.

"I'm sorry." She said, head down. "I thought it would be okay."

"So now you will listen to me?" He asked in a tone she had never heard from him before.

She felt her eyes getting teary. Beatrice hated crying, but she couldn't help it. She ruined everything. She couldn't even solve a simple problem on her own.

"I'm sorry I made you go outside."

Either her words or her tears made Lemony's expression change.

"That's not the matter." He sighed. "Do you know how many people there are out there who would hurt you, even not knowing who you are?" Beatrice felt again the tall man's hand and shivered. "If your mother knew I let anything happen to you, she would... she would..."

Her mother. Beatrice knew about her parents, she knew her names and bits of their stories. But her whole life, they were like mythical figures, like fairies or unicorns. She would never meet them, she would never know what they would think of her and of the person she became.

But to Lemony, she realized, they were real. He knew them, he really knew them. He knew what they looked like and what they sounded like and what they liked and what they didn't.

He had lost them too.

"She would know you did your best." She said in a low voice. It was what she wanted to believe.

The ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"Don't scare me like this again, girl."

Girl. She didn't like being called that, but she didn't mind it as much when Lemony said it. He always did it, maybe as a way to keep some distance, maybe because saying her name still hurt. Either way, she now felt there was this own kind of affection in this word.

What was really surprising, was realizing that Lemony felt he had to take care of her. He was not treating her as a child because he didn't think she was capable, he was doing it because he felt he had some sort of responsibility.

It felt nice. She hadn't thought he would ever see her as more than another associate. It had been so long since anyone ever took care of her. But she had him now, for as short as this would last.


End file.
